Georgia rejects Abkhazia election

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Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili has dismissed Sunday's elections in the breakaway region of Abkhazia as illegal saying results would not be recognised.

But Election Commission officials said turnout was over 40%, well above the 25% needed to make the poll legitimate.

About 130,000 people were eligible to vote in the 35-seat parliament. Results may be announced on Monday.

Abkhazia broke away in 1993 after a war in which several thousand people died. No country recognises it officially.

However, the Black Sea region enjoys the de facto support of Moscow which maintains peacekeeping troops there.

It is a key factor in the long-running political conflict between Georgia and Russia.

Mr Saakashvili denounced the Abkhaz administration during a televised visit to a military base being built at Gori, north-west of the Georgian capital, Tbilisi.

Our objective is to show everyone that we meet modern European standards Abkhaz Foreign MinisterSergei Shamba

The election is "illegal" and the results "will not be recognised by anyone, because between 400,000-500,000 (ethnic Georgian) people were driven out of Abkhazia with the support of foreigners," he said, alluding to Russian support to separatist fighters.

"A new generation has grown up in Georgia that doesn't plan to compromise with separatism and the use of force," Mr Saakashvili said.

'Calm conflict'

As he cast his vote on Sunday, the president of the breakaway region, Sergei Bagapsh, said the elections were being held in a state where there was both an opposition and a free press.

Officials in the capital, Sukhumi, said they hoped the polls would demonstrate Abkhazia had the potential to become an independent democratic country.

No country recognises Abkhazia's claims to independence but the Abkhaz Foreign Minister, Sergei Shamba, said he believed this would change.

"International organisations and states are not yet able to recognise our elections because this would also mean recognition of our state," Mr Shamba said.

"But our objective is to show everyone that we meet modern European standards," he said.

While people went to vote, Russian peace-keeping troops and United Nations monitors continued to man their checkpoints and patrol the streets.

The BBC's Matthew Collin in Abkhazia says peace negotiations have broken down and that although the region may appear to be calm, it remains a conflict zone.